Google launches Gemini‑powered Home Speaker and adds Computer Use to Gemini 3.5 Flash

Google unveiled a new $99.99 smart speaker built around its Gemini generative‑AI model, marking the first hardware product to run Gemini for Home. The spherical speaker offers 360‑degree sound, a Thread border router for Matter devices, and a fixed power cable that early reviewers said limits placement flexibility. Pre‑orders began in the United States and shipments start on June 25, with the device positioned as a successor to the Nest Audio and Nest Mini.

At the same time Google released Gemini 3.5 Flash, the latest version of its large‑language model, and integrated a native “Computer Use” capability. The feature lets Gemini agents see a screen, interpret graphical interfaces and carry out actions such as clicking buttons, filling forms or navigating web pages. It is aimed at corporate automation, software testing and continuous‑integration workflows, and includes optional security safeguards that require human confirmation for sensitive actions.

The Gemini ecosystem is also expanding to desktop macOS applications, adding voice dictation (“Speak to Window”) and a “Magic Pointer” that tracks the mouse cursor to provide context‑aware assistance. A firmware update for the Google TV Streamer adds direct pairing with the new Home Speaker and upgrades Thread support. Together, these moves deepen Google’s strategy to make Gemini the central AI layer across its hardware, cloud services and developer tools.